Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Box-Shaped Brooch
Box-shaped brooches such as this one were worn by the Viking women of Gotland (the islands in the Baltic Sea south of Sweden) to fasten a shawl or cloak about the shoulders. They also doubled as containers to hold small objects. A cast open latticework design fills the banded sides of the box and the circular front closure; the front of the brooch is further ornamented at the center with a series of raised cast squares and a highly polished circle.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
James Graham & Sons, Inc., New York; Walters Art Museum, 1952, by purchase
Exhibitions
| 1984-1987 | Objects of Adornment: Five Thousand Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. |
| 1987 | Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979-1980 | Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/19/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
Measurements
1 7/16 x 2 5/16 in. (3.7 x 6 cm) (d. x diam.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds provided by the S. & A.P. Fund, 1952
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.2373